Who Is Commander Shepard?
by tobster
Summary: In the aftermath of Mass Effect 3, the Alliance attempts to smear Commander Shepard's good name to highlight their role in the destruction of the Reapers; Shepard's former companions come together to restore the Commander's reputation, and give the true answer to the question, 'who is Commander Shepard' Rated M for language and sexual content.


**Author's Note: This is my first multi-chapter story, so please give some feedback! I hope everyone likes it. **

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><p><strong>001: Liara<strong>

"State your name for the record, please"

"Doctor Liara T'Soni."

_Deep breaths—in and out_, she thought to herself. Shepard had said that many times, back when she'd let her anxiety get the best of her. For two years she'd been in control of her nerves, she'd grown into someone who could not only serve as the _Normandy_'s finest science officer but also as a capable field agent. And yet this debriefing room brought out the old Liara; no, the young Liara; the Liara before Shepard.

"I'm really sorry to have to do this to you, Doc," Jack said, sitting down across the table from her, "But protocol is protocol is protocol. It's bullshit, but it's protocol."

"I know, Jack," Liara smiled as best she could, trying not to let the nerves get the best of her, "And I'll answer any questions the Alliance needs me to answer. We have nothing to hide about the operations on the _Normandy_."

Jack nodded, and took to perusing the tablet in her hand for a few seconds. Trying to pull her thoughts together before launching into the interrogation—Jack had never been that adept at acting 'official.' For a second, Liara saw a bit of visible frustration flash onto the biotic's face and then she slid the tablet onto the table, grinning as politely as possible.

"Alright, Doc," she started, leaning forward and flashing a sarcastic smirk at the camera documenting their every word, "First things first: do you know anything about what happened to Shep up there on the Crucible?"

"As much as you do," Liara responded simply.

"Which, as I'm sure you're aware, is jack shit," the bald-headed girl sighed, falling back into her chair. "You've really got no idea what happened to the Commander?"

Liara shook her head. Jack let out an audible groan. "See, I told these fuckers that you wouldn't," she said, pointing triumphantly, "But no, they said—the asari doctor, that was Shep's best friend, she'll know everything."

"I wasn't up there with her when she destroyed the Reapers," Liara said by rote, repeating something she'd already told plenty of people who had asked. She had been on the _Normandy_ when Shepard had used the Crucible to wipe out all synthetic life in the universe. She had watched Joker get them to FTL in barely enough time. She had watched as EDI's systems shut down before the crew's very eyes. She had watched members of the crew hold back a fired up Ashley, screaming and shouting about how they couldn't leave her, they couldn't leave her—

She had watched, like she always did. From the shadows of one of the cockpit's corners, she had been an observer in those last moments, doing nothing of note. Everyone else was lighting up with the fires of that final, climactic moment, but not Liara. All she could do was stare blankly at space in front of them, trying to find Shepard's face amongst the stars.

She hadn't found it then, and she hadn't found it since—not in the stars or anywhere else.

She swallowed those emotions, feeling herself growing a little teary. For weeks, she had tried to find other things to occupy her time, things to distract her from thoughts of her best friend, but she couldn't shake the idea of finding her. Everyone had told her to give up—_Shepard's gone_, they'd said, _dead and gone_.

But Liara couldn't hold on to that idea. She couldn't come to terms with it. What if she wasn't? She had lost so much to save these people who were going to write her off—at the end of the day, Shepard had been forced to watch her friends grow hard before her very eyes. She had been forced to let both of the men she'd found a little bit of love from die, sacrificing themselves for her cause. And now, after all of that sacrifice, the possibility remained that somewhere out there, she was alone, with none of the people she'd given so much to save willing to come save her.

"You okay, Doc?" Jack quirked an eyebrow. She'd noticed the tears.

"Fine, it's just—hard," Liara smiled, "Talking about Shepard, that is."

"Alright then, I'll make this quick and painless," she said, biting her lip, going through the tablet to find the next question she needed to ask. "So let's get on to the next set of bullshit questi—hold up." Jack leaned forward, looking closely at what the tablet was saying. "This wasn't on here before," she said, almost to herself, then pressing her earpiece, "what the fuck, Hackett?"

Liara could feel her spine growing tense. She had never liked it when things didn't go according to plan, and the fact that Jack seemed shaken up only aroused more worry. Chaos had always been that girl's element.

"That's fucking bullshit and you know it," Jack said, once again in her ear piece, "I mean, I'll fucking say it, but I'm going on the record saying that that's stupid."

"What's wrong, Jack?" Liara pried, twiddling her thumbs in trepidation. She didn't quite know if she wanted the answer.

"Dr. T'Soni," Jack heaved, looking up at her with weary eyes, "I'm sure you're aware of the still-pending charges against Commander Shepard for the destruction of the Bahak system a little under a year ago."

Liara's face went about as pale as her blue-green skin could manage. "Yes?"

"In the absence of Commander Shepard, those charges are being transferred to the _Normandy_'s active XO," Jack rolled her eyes, "which, as I'm sure you're aware, is you." Liara's eyes widened—she hadn't even been _on_ the Normandy when the Alpha Relay was destroyed. "The Alliance extends their apologies, and their assurance that were the fugitive Miranda Lawson within their reach, they'd much rather shove this shit down her throat. But in the absence of a clear culprit, your current position places responsibility on you."

"I…"

"Don't ask me how that makes any fucking sense, I don't know," Jack waved an arm, dismissing Liara's protests, "but it's what it says and so I've got to place you under arrest."

_Deep breaths. _

"Under arrest?" the doctor mewed.

"Yep," Jack nodded, standing up. "Dr. Liara T'Soni, you are under arrest for war crimes and intention to commit genocide coinciding with the destruction of the Alpha Relay and the surrounding Bahak System. You have the right to remain—"

_In and out._

Instinct kicked in, and Liara's foot lifted from the ground and slammed into the bottom of the table. Luckily it was rather flimsy, and soared into the air and then into Jack's face. A few choice curse words replaced the next section of the official dialogue as the biotic stumbled backwards, falling into the concrete wall. Liara pointed a hand at the door just to her left and within seconds it was ripped from its hinges, flying into the opposite wall.

"Fucking shit—" Jack shouted, biotically throwing the table off of her. "Liara, I fucking love your ass but if you're gonna make this hard—"

But she was already sprinting down the hallway of the Alliance base. An attachment of armed guards rounded the corner towards her and she immediately stopped and focused her energy at them, lifting them up in the air and then swinging her arms back toward Jack. The soldiers flew, like giant ragdolls, at the young biotic, one of their weapons falling to Liara's feet as they soared. She grabbed the pistol and turned the corner as Jack and the guards recollected themselves just a few yards away.

"SOUND THE MOTHERFUCKING ALARM, WE'VE GOT THE GODDAMN SHADOW BROKER SHOOTING UP THE PLACE!" Jack's voice roared from behind her. Liara couldn't stop to think about whether or not she'd made the right decision—it had been a snap judgment, like Shepard herself had been known to make. She couldn't possibly let herself be apprehended. The information she held in her hands—as Shadow Broker, as the galaxy's leading expert on Protheans, as the closest thing the galaxy had to an authority on Shepard and her whole story—would do nobody any good from inside a jail cell.

Of course, when Shepard made a snap judgment, it usually turned out less insane than this one did.

She burst through the front doors of the Alliance's outpost, stumbling into the sunlight of the London day. She could hear the alarm blaring from inside the building, and so she didn't see any other choice but one: keep running.

And keep breathing.


End file.
